Committee on Ways and Means | |
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118th United States Congress | |
History | |
Founded | December 21, 1795 |
New session started | January 9, 2023 |
Leadership | |
Chair | |
Ranking Member | |
Structure | |
Seats | 43 members |
Political groups | Majority
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Joint committees | Senate equivalent: Senate Finance Committee |
Website | |
waysandmeans |
The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other programs including Social Security, unemployment benefits, Medicare, the enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, foster care, and adoption programs. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committee unless they are granted a waiver from their party's congressional leadership. It has long been regarded as the most prestigious committee of the House of Representatives.[1]
The United States Constitution requires that all bills regarding taxation must originate in the U.S. House of Representatives, and House rules dictate that all bills regarding taxation must pass through Ways and Means. This system imparts upon the committee and its members a significant degree of influence over other representatives, committees, and public policy. Its Senate counterpart is the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance.
In the 118th Congress, the committee's chair is Jason T. Smith.[2] Recent chairmen have included Bill Thomas, Charlie Rangel, Sander Levin, Dave Camp, Paul Ryan, Kevin Brady, and Richard Neal.
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Congressional Committees: Crash Course Government and Politics #7
Transcription
Hi, I'm Craig and this is Crash Course Government and Politics and today we're going to get down and dirty wallowing in the mud that is Congress. Okay, maybe that's a little unfair, but the workings of Congress are kind of arcane or byzantine or maybe let's just say extremely complex and confusing, like me, or Game of Thrones without the nudity. Some of the nudity, maybe. However, Congress is the most important branch, so it would probably behoove most Americans to know how it works. I'm going to try to explain. Be prepared to be behooved. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are divided up into committees in order to make them more efficient. The committees you hear about most are the standing committees, which are relatively permanent and handle the day-to-day business of Congress. The House has 19 standing committees and the Senate 16. Congressmen and Senators serve on multiple committees. Each committee has a chairperson, or chair, who is the one who usually gets mentioned in the press, which is why you would know the name of the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. Tell us in the comments if you do know, or tell us if you are on the committee, or just say hi. Congress creates special or select committees to deal with particular issues that are beyond the jurisdiction of standing committees. Some of them are temporary and some, like the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, are permanent. Some of them have only an advisory function which means they can't write laws. The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming has only advisory authority which tells you pretty much all you need to know about Congress and climate change. There are joint committees made up of members of both houses. Most of them are standing committees and they don't do a lot although the joint Committee on the Library oversees the Library of Congress, without which we would not be able to use a lot of these pictures. Like that one, and that one, and ooh that one's my favorite. Other committees are conference committees, which are created to reconcile a bill when the House and Senate write different versions of it, but I'll talk about those later when we try to figure out how a bill becomes a law. So why does Congress have so many committees? The main reason is that it's more efficient to write legislation in a smaller group rather than a larger one. Congressional committees also allow Congressmen to develop expertise on certain topics. So a Congressperson from Iowa can get on an agriculture committee because that is an issue he presumably knows something about if he pays attention to his constituents. Or a Congressperson from Oklahoma could be on the Regulation of Wind Rolling Down the Plain Committee. Committees allow members of Congress to follows their own interests, so someone passionate about national defense can try to get on the armed services committee. Probably more important, serving on a committee is something that a Congressperson can claim credit for and use to build up his or her brand when it comes time for reelection. Congress also has committees for historical reasons. Congress is pretty tradish, which is what you say when you don't have time to say traditional. Anyway, it doesn't see much need to change a system that has worked, for the most part, since 1825. That doesn't mean that Congress hasn't tried to tweak the system. Let's talk about how committees actually work in the Thought Bubble. Any member of Congress can propose a bill, this is called proposal power, but it has to go to a committee first. Then to get to the rest of the House or Senate it has to be reported out of committee. The chair determines the agenda by choosing which issues get considered. In the House the Speaker refers bills to particular committees, but the committee chair has some discretion over whether or not to act on the bills. This power to control what ideas do or do not become bills is what political scientists call "Gatekeeping Authority", and it's a remarkably important power that we rarely ever think about, largely because when a bill doesn't make it on to the agenda, there's not much to write or talk about. The committee chairs also manage the actual process of writing a bill, which is called mark-up, and the vote on the bill in the committee itself. If a bill doesn't receive a majority of votes in the committee, it won't be reported out to the full House or Senate. In this case we say the bill "died in committee" and we have a small funeral on the National Mall. Nah we just put it in the shredder. Anyway, committee voting is kind of an efficient practice. If a bill can't command a majority in a small committee it doesn't have much chance in the floor of either house. Committees can kill bills by just not voting on them, but it is possible in the House to force them to vote by filing a discharge petition - this almost never happens. Gatekeeping Authority is Congress's most important power, but it also has oversight power, which is an after-the-fact authority to check up on how law is being implemented. Committees exercise oversight by assigning staff to scrutinize a particular law or policy and by holding hearings. Holding hearings is an excellent way to take a position on a particular issue. Thanks Thought Bubble. So those are the basics of how committees work, but I promised you we'd go beyond the basics, so here we go into the Realm of Congressional History. Since Congress started using committees they have made a number of changes, but the ones that have bent the Congress into its current shape occurred under the speakership of Newt Gingrich in 1994. Overall Gingrich increased the power of the Speaker, who was already pretty powerful. The number of subcommittees was reduced, and seniority rules in appointing chairs were changed. Before Gingrich or "BG" the chair of a committee was usually the longest serving member of the majority party, which for most of the 20th century was the Democrats. AG Congress, or Anno Gingrichy Congress, holds votes to choose the chairs. The Speaker has a lot of influence over who gets chosen on these votes, which happen more regularly because the Republicans also impose term limits on the committee chairs. Being able to offer chairmanships to loyal party members gives the Speaker a lot more influence over the committees themselves. The Speaker also increased his, or her - this is the first time we can say that, thanks Nancy Pelosi - power to refer bills to committee and act as gatekeeper. Gingrich also made changes to congressional staffing. But before we discuss the changes, let's spend a minute or two looking at Congressional staff in general. There are two types of congressional staff, the Staff Assistants that each Congressperson or Senator has to help her or him with the actual job of being a legislator, and the Staff Agencies that work for Congress as a whole. The staff of a Congressperson is incredibly important. Some staffers' job is to research and write legislation while others do case work, like responding to constituents' requests. Some staffers perform personal functions, like keeping track of a Congressperson's calendar, or most importantly making coffee - can we get a staffer in here? As Congresspeople spend more and more time raising money, more and more of the actual legislative work is done by staff. In addition to the individual staffers, Congress as a whole has specialized staff agencies that are supposed to be more independent. You may have heard of these agencies, or at least some of them. The Congressional Research Service is supposed to perform unbiased factual research for Congresspeople and their staff to help them in the process of writing the actual bills. The Government Accountability Office is a branch of Congress that can investigate the finances and administration of any government administrative office. The Congressional Budget Office assesses the likely costs and impact of legislation. When the CBO looks at the cost of a particular bill it's called "scoring the bill." The Congressional reforms after 1994 generally increased the number of individual staff and reduced the staff of the staff agencies. This means that more legislation comes out of the offices of individual Congresspeople. The last feature of Congress that I'm going to mention, briefly because their actual function and importance is nebulous, is the caucus system. These are caucuses in Congress, so don't confuse them with the caucuses that some states use to choose candidates for office, like the ones in Iowa. Caucuses are semi-formal groups of Congresspeople organized around particular identities or interests. Semi-formal in this case doesn't mean that they wear suits and ties, it means that they don't have official function in the legislative process. But you know what? Class it up a little - just try to look nice. The Congressional Black Caucus is made up of the African American members of the legislature. The Republican Study Group is the conservative caucus that meets to discuss conservative issues and develop legislative strategies. Since 2010 there is also a Tea Party caucus in Congress. There are also caucuses for very specific interests like the Bike Caucus that focuses on cycling. There should also be a Beard Caucus, shouldn't there? Is there a Beard Caucus Stan? No? What about an eagle punching caucus? The purpose of these caucuses is for like minded people to gather and discuss ideas. The caucuses can help members of Congress coordinate their efforts and also provide leadership opportunities for individual Congresspeople outside of the more formal structures of committees. There are a lot of terms and details to remember, but here's the big thing to take away: caucuses, congressional staff, and especially committees, all exist to make the process of lawmaking more efficient. In particular, committees and staff allow individual legislators to develop expertise; this is the theory anyway. Yes it's a theory. Committees also serve a political function of helping Congresspeople build an identity for voters that should help them get elected. In some ways this is just as important in the role in the process of making actual legislation. When Congress doesn't pass many laws, committee membership, or better yet, being a committee chair is one of the only ways that a Congressperson can distinguish him or herself. At least it gives you something more to learn about incumbents when you're making your voting choices. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next week. Crash Course is produced in association with PBS Digital Studios. Support for Crash Course US Government comes from Voqal. Voqal supports nonprofits that use technology and media to advance social equity. Learn more about their mission and initiatives at voqal.org Crash Course is made with all of these lovely people. Thanks for watching. Staffer! Coffee! Please. Thank you.
History
The Ways and Means Committee was first established during the first Congress, in 1789. However, this initial version was disbanded after only 8 weeks; for the next several years, only ad hoc committees were formed, to write up laws on notions already debated in the whole House. It was first established as a standing committee by resolution adopted December 21, 1795,[3] and first appeared among the list of regular standing committees on January 7, 1802.[4] Upon its original creation, it held power over both taxes and spending, until the spending power was given to the new Appropriations Committee in 1865.[5]
During the Civil War the key policy-maker in Congress was Thaddeus Stevens, as chairman of the committee and Republican floor leader. He took charge of major legislation that funded the war effort and permanently transformed the nation's economic policies regarding tariffs, bonds, income and excise taxes, national banks, suppression of money issued by state banks, greenback currency, and western railroad land grants.[6] Stevens was one of the major policymakers regarding Reconstruction, and obtained a House vote of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson (who was acquitted by the Senate in 1868). Hans L. Trefousse, his leading biographer, concludes that Stevens "was one of the most influential representatives ever to serve in Congress. [He dominated] the House with his wit, knowledge of parliamentary law, and sheer willpower, even though he was often unable to prevail."[7] Historiographical views of Stevens have dramatically shifted over the years, from the early 20th-century view of Stevens and the Radical Republicans as tools of enormous business and motivated by hatred of the white South, to the perspective of the neoabolitionists of the 1950s and afterwards, who applauded their efforts to give equal rights to the freed slaves.[citation needed]
Three future presidents – James Polk, Millard Fillmore, and William McKinley – served as Committee Chairman. Before the official roles of floor leader came about in the late 19th century, the Chairman of Ways and Means was considered the Majority Leader. The chairman is one of very few Representatives to have office space within the Capitol building itself.[8]
Political significance
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Because of its wide jurisdiction, Ways and Means has always been one of the most important committees with respect to impact on policy. Although it lacks the prospects for reelection help that comes with the Appropriations Committee, it is seen as a valuable post for two reasons: given the wide array of interests that are affected by the committee, a seat makes it easy to collect campaign contributions[9] and since its range is broad, members with a wide array of policy concerns often seek positions to be able to influence policy decisions. Some recent major issues that have gone through the Ways and Means Committee include welfare reform, a Medicare prescription drug benefit, Social Security reform, George W. Bush's tax cuts, and trade agreements including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
From 1911 to 1974, the Ways and Means Committee also had the responsibility to appoint members of other committees in addition to its legislative duties.[10] When Ways and Means chair Wilbur Mills' career ended in scandal, Congressman Phillip Burton transferred the committee's selection powers to a separate, newly created committee.[10]
Members, 118th Congress
Majority | Minority |
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Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 14 (chair), H.Res. 15 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 56 (R), H.Res. 57 (D), H.Res. 999 (Gomez)
Subcommittees
There are six subcommittees in the 118th Congress. In 2011, the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support was renamed the Subcommittee on Human Resources, returning to the name it held prior to the 110th United States Congress.[11] In 2015, the Select Revenue Measures was renamed the Subcommittee on Tax Policy.[12] In 2019 these two subcommittees were again renamed under Democratic control; Human Resources became Worker and Family Support and Tax Policy was renamed to Select Revenue Measures. In 2023 and under a return to Republican control, they were again renamed to Work and Welfare and Tax respectively.
Subcommittee | Chair[13] | Ranking Member[14] |
---|---|---|
Health | Vern Buchanan (R-FL) | Lloyd Doggett (D–TX) |
Oversight | David Schweikert (R-AZ) | Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) |
Social Security | Drew Ferguson (R-GA) | John B. Larson (D-CT) |
Tax | Mike Kelly (R-PA) | Mike Thompson (D-CA) |
Trade | Adrian Smith (R-NE) | Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) |
Work and Welfare | Darin LaHood (R-IL) | Danny K. Davis (D–IL) |
List of chairs
# | Chair | Party | State | Start of service | End of service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thomas Fitzsimons | Federalist | PA | 1789 | 1789 |
2 | William L. Smith | Federalist | SC | 1794 | 1797 |
3 | Robert G. Harper | Federalist | SC | 1797 | 1800 |
4 | Roger Griswold | Federalist | CT | 1800 | 1801 |
5 | John Randolph | Democratic-Republican | VA | 1801 | 1805 |
6 | Joseph Clay | Democratic-Republican | PA | 1805 | 1807 |
7 | George W. Campbell | Democratic-Republican | TN | 1807 | 1809 |
8 | John W. Eppes | Democratic-Republican | VA | 1809 | 1811 |
9 | Ezekiel Bacon | Democratic-Republican | MA | 1811 | 1812 |
10 | Langdon Cheves | Democratic-Republican | SC | 1812 | 1813 |
11 | John W. Eppes | Democratic-Republican | VA | 1813 | 1815 |
12 | William Lowndes | Democratic-Republican | SC | 1815 | 1818 |
13 | Samuel Smith | Democratic-Republican | MD | 1818 | 1822 |
14 | Louis McLane | Federalist | DE | 1822 | 1827 |
15 | John Randolph | Democratic | VA | 1827 | 1827 |
16 | George McDuffie | Democratic | SC | 1827 | 1832 |
17 | Gulian C. Verplanck | Democratic | NY | 1832 | 1833 |
18 | James K. Polk | Democratic | TN | 1833 | 1835 |
19 | Churchill C. Cambreleng | Democratic | NY | 1835 | 1839 |
20 | John W. Jones | Democratic | VA | 1839 | 1841 |
21 | Millard Fillmore | Whig | NY | 1841 | 1843 |
22 | James I. McKay | Democratic | NC | 1843 | 1847 |
23 | Samuel F. Vinton | Whig | OH | 1847 | 1849 |
24 | Thomas H. Bayly | Democratic | VA | 1849 | 1851 |
25 | George S. Houston | Democratic | AL | 1851 | 1855 |
26 | Lewis D. Campbell | Republican | OH | 1856 | 1857 |
27 | J. Glancy Jones | Democratic | PA | 1857 | 1858 |
28 | John S. Phelps | Democratic | MO | 1858 | 1859 |
29 | John Sherman | Republican | OH | 1860 | 1861 |
30 | Thaddeus Stevens | Republican | PA | 1861 | 1865 |
31 | Justin Morrill | Republican | VT | 1865 | 1867 |
32 | Robert C. Schenck | Republican | OH | 1867 | 1871 |
33 | Samuel Hooper | Republican | MA | 1871 | 1871 |
34 | Henry L. Dawes | Republican | MA | 1871 | 1875 |
35 | William R. Morrison | Democratic | IL | 1875 | 1877 |
36 | Fernando Wood | Democratic | NY | 1877 | 1881 |
37 | John R. Tucker | Democratic | VA | 1881 | 1881 |
38 | William D. Kelley | Republican | PA | 1881 | 1883 |
39 | William R. Morrison | Democratic | IL | 1883 | 1887 |
40 | Roger Q. Mills | Democratic | TX | 1887 | 1889 |
41 | William McKinley | Republican | OH | 1889 | 1891 |
42 | William M. Springer | Democratic | IL | 1891 | 1893 |
43 | William L. Wilson | Democratic | WV | 1893 | 1895 |
44 | Nelson Dingley, Jr. | Republican | ME | 1895 | 1899 |
45 | Sereno E. Payne | Republican | NY | 1899 | 1911 |
46 | Oscar W. Underwood | Democratic | AL | 1911 | 1915 |
47 | Claude Kitchin | Democratic | NC | 1915 | 1919 |
48 | Joseph Fordney | Republican | MI | 1919 | 1923 |
49 | William R. Green | Republican | IA | 1923 | 1928 |
50 | Willis C. Hawley | Republican | OR | 1928 | 1931 |
51 | James W. Collier | Democratic | MS | 1931 | 1933 |
52 | Robert L. Doughton | Democratic | NC | 1933 | 1947 |
53 | Harold Knutson | Republican | MN | 1947 | 1949 |
54 | Robert L. Doughton | Democratic | NC | 1949 | 1953 |
55 | Daniel A. Reed | Republican | NY | 1953 | 1955 |
56 | Jere Cooper | Democratic | TN | 1955 | 1957 |
57 | Wilbur Mills | Democratic | AR | 1957 | 1975 |
Al Ullman (acting) | Democratic | OR | 1973 | 1975 | |
58 | Al Ullman | Democratic | OR | 1975 | 1981 |
59 | Dan Rostenkowski | Democratic | IL | 1981 | 1994 |
Sam Gibbons (acting) | Democratic | FL | 1994 | 1995 | |
60 | Bill Archer | Republican | TX | 1995 | 2001 |
61 | Bill Thomas | Republican | CA | 2001 | 2007 |
62 | Charles Rangel | Democratic | NY | 2007 | 2010 |
Pete Stark (acting) | Democratic | CA | 2010 | 2010 | |
63 | Sander Levin | Democratic | MI | 2010 | 2011 |
64 | Dave Camp | Republican | MI | 2011 | 2015 |
65 | Paul Ryan | Republican | WI | 2015 | 2015 |
66 | Kevin Brady | Republican | TX | 2015 | 2019 |
67 | Richard Neal | Democratic | MA | 2019 | 2023 |
68 | Jason Smith | Republican | MO | 2023 | Present |
Historical membership rosters
117th Congress
Majority | Minority |
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|
|
Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 9 (chair), H.Res. 10 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 62 (D), H.Res. 63 (R), H.Res. 875 (R), H.Res. 1159 (R)
- Subcommittees
Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member |
---|---|---|
Health | Lloyd Doggett (D–TX) | Vern Buchanan (R–FL) |
Oversight | Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) | Tom Rice (R-SC) |
Select Revenue Measures | Mike Thompson (D-CA) | Mike Kelly (R–PA) |
Social Security | John B. Larson (D-CT) | Tom Reed (R-NY) |
Trade | Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) | Adrian Smith (R–NE) |
Worker and Family Support | Danny Davis (D–IL) | Vacant |
116th Congress
Majority | Minority |
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|
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Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 7 (chair); H.Res. 8 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 42 (D), H.Res. 68 (R)
- Subcommittee
Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member |
---|---|---|
Health | Lloyd Doggett (D–TX) | Devin Nunes (R–CA) |
Worker and Family Support | Danny Davis (D–IL) | Jackie Walorski (R–IN) |
Oversight | Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) | Mike Kelly (R–PA) |
Select Revenue Measures | Mike Thompson (D-CA) | Adrian Smith (R–NE) |
Social Security | John B. Larson (D-CT) | Tom Reed (R-NY) |
Trade | Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) | Vern Buchanan (R–FL) |
115th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
- Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 6 (chair); H.Res. 7 (Ranking Member); H.Res. 29, H.Res. 131, (R); H.Res. 45, H.Res. 95 (D)
See also
References
- ^ "Panic Rooms, Birth Certificates and the Birth of GOP Paranoia". Politico. April 2, 2021.
- ^ Weiss, Laura (January 9, 2023). "Rep. Jason Smith wins three-way contest for Ways and Means gavel". Roll Call. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ^ "Ways and Means Bicentennial History, Page 38" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 23, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
- ^ "Ways and Means Bicentennial History, Page 58" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 10, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
- ^ Cannon, J. M., Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994), p. 58.
- ^ Heather Cox Richardson (1997). The Greatest Nation of the Earth: Republican Economic Policies During the Civil War. Harvard University Press. pp. 9, 41, 52, 111, 116, 120, 182, 202. ISBN 9780674059658.
- ^ Trefousse, H. L. (1991). Historical Dictionary of Reconstruction. Greenwood. p. 214. ISBN 9780313258626.
- ^ Schraufnagel, S., Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Congress (Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011), p. 239 Archived February 13, 2021, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Grier, Kevin; Munger, Michael (1991). "Committee Assignments, Constituent Preferences and Campaign Contributions". Economic Inquiry. 29 (1): 24–43. doi:10.1111/j.1465-7295.1991.tb01250.x.
- ^ a b Committee on Ways and Means (1989). A Bicentennial History, 1789-1989. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 215, 354, 355. ISBN 0-465-04195-7.
- ^ "Chairman Camp Announces Republican Membership on Ways & Means Subcommittees for 113th Congress". January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
- ^ "Chairman Brady Announces Republican Subcommittee Chairs, Members". November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- ^ Foster, Tim (January 27, 2023). "Smith Announces 118th Congress Ways and Means Subcommittee Chairs". House Committee on Ways and Means. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- ^ "Ranking Member Neal Announces Ways and Means Democrats' Subcommittee Assignments for the 118th Congress". Ways and Means Committee - Democrats. January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
Sources
Further reading
- Cataldo, Everett Felix. "The House Committee on Ways and Means" (PhD dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1965) online.
- Curtis, Thomas B. "The House Committee on Ways and Means: Congress Seen Through a Key Committee." Wisconsin Law Review(1966): 121+ online.
- Davidson, Roger. Masters of the House: Congressional leadership over two centuries (Routledge, 2018)
- Kennon, Donald R., and Rebecca Mary Rogers. The Committee on Ways and Means: A Bicentennial History 1789-1989 (US Government Printing Office, 1989).
- Manley, John F. "The House Committee on Ways and Means: Conflict management in a congressional committee." American Political Science Review 59.4 (1965): 927–939.
- Manley, John F. The politics of finance: the House Committee on Ways and Means ( Little, Brown, 1970).
- Sullivan, Terry. "Voter's paradox and logrolling: An initial framework for committee behavior on appropriations and ways and means." Public Choice (1976): 31–44. online
- Winfree, Paul. A History (and Future) of the Budget Process in the United States (Springer Nature, 2019).
Primary sources
- Rangel, Charles B.; Wynter, Leon (2007). And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress. New York: St. Martin's Press.
External links
- Official committee website (Archive)
- House Ways and Means Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov.
- House Ways and Means Committee Hearings and Meetings Video. Congress.gov.